Floating dry-dock.



W. T. DONNELLY.

LAT'ING DRY EUSK- APPLIGATION HL2 ons. s. 19x;l

Patented Aug. 18, 1914,

3 SHEETSMSKHEET l4 INI/ENTOR @/mwm ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

,UTUHNEYS Off@ WILLIAM THOMAS DONNELLY, OF BROOKLYN7 NEXV YORK.

FLOATING DRY-DOCK Specieation of Letters Patent.

Patented Ang. 1s, 1914.

Application led `October 9, 1912,' Serial mi. 724,888.

T0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known thatA I, VILLIAM Ti-roMAs DoxNnLLv, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented c ertain new and useful Improvements in Floating Dry-Docks, of which the following' is a specification.

My invention relates to floating dry docks.

In lioating dry docks constructed of Wood or principally of wood, it has been necessary to place solid permanent ballast therein,- for instance stone, to sink them, this being for the reason that the Weight ofl a dock of this character, even with the aid of the water admitted therein, is less than the lweight of the water whichv it displaces, andto provide room'therein for the solid ballast the dimensionsof the' dock have to be increased beyond those necessitated by the size of the largest vessel which it is required to dock.

My invention therefore has for its object to provide a floating dry dock constructed of .wood or principally of wood7 having means whereby ballast, for instance Water, may be supplied thereto at a point above the extreme draftof the dock to aid in sinking it and readily withdrawn therefrom to allow the dock to rise. thereby ob- 30 viating the necessity of increasing the dimensions of ,a dock' of this character beyond those absolutely necessitated by the size of the largest vessel which it is required to dock.

It has for a further lobject to provide a floating dry dock constructed of Wood or principally of wood having means whereby it can be trimmed and thus kept level, this object being accomplished by providing a series of water compartments in the dock, a series of water compartments at a point above the extreme draft of the dock and means adaptingwater to pass back and forth between said compartments and adapting water to be exhausted from said compartments.

In thedrawings: Figure l is an end view of the dock embodying my invention, shown partly in section and broken away. Fig. a longitudinal vertical sectional view, taken through the body of the dock. one of the wings and the ballast compartments on top of said wing. Fig. 3 a horizontal sectional view, taken through the ballast compartments on top of on'e of the wings and showpartment partly broken away. Fig. 4; a

horizontal sectional view, taken through one of the wings.

Referring to the drawings illustrating my invention, in which like reference charac-' ters designate corresponding parts, l designates the body oi' the dock and 2 and .l the wings thereof. Keel blocks el and bilge blocks 5 are provided upon Athe deck oi the dock for receiving and supporting a vessel thereon. Ballast cmnpartments il, T. and 8 are provided on top of thehwings above the extreme' draft of the d oek and by v reason of their location, in addition to servA ing the purposes herein before and herein `after fully set forth,oifer no resistance to the sinking of the dock.

lThe body of the dock is divided interiorly by a central longitudinal bulkhead 9 and the body on each side of the bulkhead. and each wingl is .divided interiorly into ballast compartments 10, ll and having lateral .inlets 13 controlled by gates l/l operated by rods l5, the lower ends oi' which are se cured to the gates and the upper ends pro` vided with screw threads and passing through stands 1G, on top of the ballast compartments 6, 7 and 8. and engaging screw threaded bores in hand wheels 17.

Centrifugal pumps 18 are mounted in the ballastcompartments ll of the dock and operated by motors 19, on top of the ballast compartments (l, 7 and 8. connected by sha fts Q() with the Wheels of the pumps. The pumps are provided with hiteralijiv extending outlets 2l coimected with outlets to the exterior of the dockr` controlled by valves 23. operated by shafts Q4, the lower ends of which are secured to the valves and the no per ends provided with screw threads and passing through stands on the top ot' the ballast compartments 6, T and gaging screw threaded bores in the hand wheels 26. Combined inlets and outlets 27,' to and from the pumps, .extend downwardly therefrom and are connected with the ballast compartments 10, ll and l2 by pipes 28, 29

and 3 0 respectively havim' `action bells on their ends and provided with suction valves 3l., 32 and 33 respectively controlling the passage of water therethrough and oper ated hy shafts 34, 5&5 and 3G respectively the lower endsl of which are connected to the valves and the u'pper ends proiided with screw threads and passing through stands ing the bottonr ot'- the middle ballast comi 37 on top of the ballast compartments Y 7 and 8 and engaging screw threaded bores in starting the pumps 18, whereupon the water hand Wheels 38. Pipes 39 are connected at their lower endswith the outlets 21 from the pumps and at their upper ends with pipes 4G,^\41 and 42 connected with the ballast compartments 6, 7 and 8 respectively and provided with valves 43, 44 and 45 respectively controlling the passage of water therethrough and operated by shafts 46, 47 and 48 respectively the lower ends of which are connected to the valves and the upper ends provided with screw threads and passing through stands'49 on top of the ballast compartments 6, 7 and 8 and engaging screw threaded bores in hand wheels 50.

The operation is as follows:

The dock being assumed to be raised and ready to be sunk, with the keel and bilge blocks properly adjusted for the vessel to be docked, the flood gates 14 along both sides of the dock are opened, the valves 43, 44 and 45 opened, the' outlet Valves 23 closed, the suction valves 31, 32 and 33 opened and the pumps 18 are started, whereupon water will ow into the compartments 10, 11 and 12 and be forced therefrom by the pumps into the compartments 6, 7 and 8 and after the dock has sunk to the required depth the Hood gates `14 are closed, the pumps 18 stopped,

the valves 43, 44 and 45 are closed and the vessel to be docked is then centered therein. After the dock has been sunk it can be trimmed both laterally and longitudinally so as to be perfectly level.. The dock is trimmed longitudinally, in one direction, by opening the valves 43 and the suction valves 33 and allowing water to run from the compartments .6 into the compartments 12, or longitudinally in the opposite direction by opening the valves 45 and the suction valves 31 and allowing water to run from the compartments 8 into the compartments 10. The' dock is trimmed laterally,in one direction,-

by opening the valves 23`of the pumps 18 and opening the valves 43, 44 and 45 of the compartments 6, 7 and 8 on the side of the dock having the wing 2'and allowing water to run from the compartments 6, 7 and 8 through the outlets 22 of the dock, or trimmed laterally in the opposite direction by opening the valves 23 of the pumps 18 and opening the valves 43, 44 and 45 of the compartments 6, 7 and 8 on the side of the dock having the wing 3 and allowing water to runv from the compartments 6, 7 and 8 through the outlets 22 of the'dock. To raise that? dock again, with the ship thereon, the valves 4,3, 44 and 45 are opened and the valves 23 of the pumps 18l opened, whereupon the water in the compartments 6, 7 and 8 will v`.exhaust therefrom by avity and pass out through the outlets 22 of the dock and thereafter water is also exhausted from the compartments 10, 11 and 12 by opening the suction valves 31, f and 33 and in the compartments 10, 11 and 12 will be forced therefrom'by the pumps 18 and pass out through the outlets 22 of the dock.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the details of construction and arrangement as herein described and illustrated, as it is manifest that variations and modifications may be made in the features of construction and arrangement in the adaptation of the device to various conditions of use without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention and improvements. I therefore reserve the right to all such variations and modifications as properly fall within the scope of my invention and the terms of the following claims.

I claim:

1A. floating dryidock constructed substahtially of wood, having ballast compartments which under all conditions are located at a point entirely above the line of `its extreme draft, means forming a com` munication between said compartments, adapting liquid ballast to be supplied there` to and withdrawn therefrom, and pumping means for forcing said liquid ballast into said compartments, substantially as described.

2. A floating dry dock constructed substantiallv of wood, havin lower ballast compartments. ballast com artments which under all conditionsare located on ach side at a point entirely above the'line o extreme draft and the lower ballast compartments and means adapting liquid ballast to be supplied from the lower to the upper compartments and withdrawn therefrom, substantially as described.

3. A floating dry dock constructed substantially of wood, having lower ballast compartments, upper ballast compartments which under all conditions are located at a point entirely above its extreme draft and the lower ballast compartments and means adapting liquid ballast to be supplied thereto and withdrawn therefrom and adapting' between said compartments and the lower' portion of the interior of the dock and means adapting liquid ballast to be withdrawn from said compartments and the lower portion ofthe interior of the dock independently, substantially as described.

5. A floating dry dock constructed ias stantially of Wood, having compartments in the lower portion of its interior, compartments which under all conditions are located at the top at a point entirely above its eX- treme draft, means adapting liquid ballast .to be supplied to said compartments and means adapting liquid ballast to be withdrawn from said compartments located at the top above the extreme draft of the compartments in its interior, the upper compartments under all conditions being located at a point entirely above its extreme draft, means adapting liquid ballast to be supplied to said compartments and pass back and i forth between said compartments and means adapting liquid ballast to be withdrawn. from the compartments located above tlief extreme draft of the dock and the loweri compartments in the dock independently, substantially as described.

7. A floating dry dock constructed substantially of wood, having lower compartments in its interior, upper compartments which under all conditions are located on each side at a point entirely above its extreme draft, means adapting liquid ballast to be supplied to the compartments above the eX- treme draft and means adapting liquid ballast to be withdrawn from the upper compartmcnts located above the extreme draft and the lower compartments in the interior of the dock independently, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

vVlLLlAlVl THOMAS DONNELLY.

Witnesses FREDERICK W. QUIDAS.I Gummi: C. lNcsrRANn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

